Hawkeyes add pair of commits

It's been quiet on the recruiting front for the Hawkeyes, but this week warmed up with a pair of commitments from Florida.

Wide receiver Greg Mabin and defensive end Daumantas Venckus committed to play football for Iowa, according to HawkeyeReport.com. Defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski is Iowa's primary recruiter in Florida.

Mabin (6-2, 190 pounds) picked Iowa over offers from Tulane and Jacksonville State. Venckus picked Iowa -- without taking an official visit -- over offers from Colorado State and Navy.

As a senior, Mabin finished with 52 catches for 877 yards and 15 touchdowns in leading Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) to a 7-3 record. Last year as a junior, he had 58 catches for 1,094 yards and 12 touchdowns. Rivals.com ranks Mabin as a three-star prospect.

"I would have to say just the fact that I'm so physical," Mabin told HawkeyeReport when asked about his strengths. "I'm not scared to hit or be hit and I'm not scared to go over the middle. I also think I'm pretty good at reading the defense and finding where the soft spot in the coverage is and just finding a way to get open."

Venckus, who has a 4.98 GPA on a 6.0 scale, made the move from tight end to defensive end this season. He has 70 tackles and 12 sacks through 10 games, along with three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception he returned 57 yards for a touchdown.

"Last year I was a tight end and I only weighed about 180 pounds, but this off-season my coach told me he was switching me to defensive end," Venckus told HawkeyeReport. "I really wanted to do well because I wanted to go Division I, so I went to a lot of camps and just started working out a lot and gaining as much weight as I could."

The Hawkeyes now have 12 commitments for the 2012 class. Coach Kirk Ferentz said this week Iowa would sign between 18 and 20 when the national signing period begins Feb. 1, 2012.

"That's a rough number, but that's what I would expect," Ferentz said.

WR Greg Mabin

DE Daumantas Venckus

Mitch Keppy, OL, 6-5, 287, Riverdale High School (Port Byron, Ill.)

Cameron Wilson, WR, 6-2, 193, Jerome High School (Dublin, Ohio)

Drew Ott, DE, 6-4, 235, Giltner (Neb.) High School

Maurice Fleming Jr., CB, 6-1, 185, Curie High School (Chicago)

Connor Kornbrath, K/P, 6-7, 210, Bridgeport (W.V.) High School

Jaleel Johnson, DT, 6-4, 290, Montini High School (Westchester, Ill.)

Ryan Ward, OL, 6-6, 270,  Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.)

Michael Malloy, RB/WR, 6-0, 180, Sioux City Heelan

Laron Taylor, LB, 6-0, 205, Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.)

Ruben Lile, S, 6-3, 200 Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.)

Greg Mabin, WR, 6-2, 190 Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Daumantas Venckus, DE, 6-4, 220 Cypress Bay (Weston, Fla.)